Return of the Night Owl

Daylight turned quickly to darkness as my mood turned in the same direction. I sit here alone feeling the cold envelope my body like a shroud. The storm that has raged for 3 days has frozen the outside world in a glistening mass of ice. I look at the pond and contemplate its very existence in this wasteland

Isn’t it strange that only 72 hours ago I thought my life was perfect? And, then this. My beloved Henry lies frozen on the front porch. How can this be? What karma brings this kind of misery?

On Monday, Henry went to the pond to feed the ducks as he does every afternoon, but on that day he did not return to the house. As I walked towards the pond, I saw him crumpled to the ground. I screamed his name and ran towards him, but somehow I already knew that he had left me. I managed to drag him to the porch by sheer will and determination. The frozen ice pellets began hitting me as I began my trek and my tears froze on my face leaving icy tracks on my cheeks. My body and soul ached for so many reasons. Not least of which, was, how do I go on?

Two days later this storm still rages on. I fill a martini shaker with the hail stones that have piled up in front of the kitchen door and make our famous Grey Goose extra dirty martinis. I set one next to Henry's lifeless body and as I slowly sip min my mind begins to formulate a plan. Henry always said that he never wanted to leave our little farm. He said that there were too many memories that would be left behind.

As I put my plan in motion, I am reminded of all the times we made love by the pond in the dusk of the evening. Our bodies clinging to each other as if to keep us from rolling off the edge and straight into the water. I let my hair down just the way Henry always liked it. I put on the blue dress he always loved and spritz on his favorite perfume. My face is au natural as another homage to my darling who said this was how he always wanted to remember me.

As I begin a reverse trek to the pond, bringing my beloved with me, I know that this is the right decision. The hole in the ice that the ducks have kept open will serve my purpose. As I slowly push Henry towards the icy grave, I tell him over and over that I love him now and always. But more importantly, I am telling him that in a very short time, we will be together again and this time will be forever.

Should you wonder why I have chosen this path and why I’ve chosen tonight, I will tell you that it is because if one is very lucky they find their soulmate. They are that one person that we cannot live without. We could never leave each other for that would surely be a slow death for one. As for choosing tonight, it is because I heard the night owl. Henry and I always waited until we heard the owl before enjoying a nightly cocktail. Since losing my Henry I have not heard the owl until tonight. It is clear that the return of the night owl is the spirit of my beloved calling me. Do not despair for us for the fates have chosen this as our final resting place and time forevermore to share our love.